The American journal of emergency medicine
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Observational Study
The relationship between ocular trauma and substance abuse in emergency department patients.
Eye injury is the second most common cause of visual impairment and a leading cause of monocular blindness in the United States. There are approximately 6 million ED visits related to drug use annually, including misuse or abuse of pharmaceuticals and illicit drug use. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between ocular trauma and substance abuse among emergency department patients and to assess that relationship with demographic factors, including age and gender. ⋯ Mechanisms of eye injury included primarily motor vehicle accidents and assault. Most ocular trauma involved the external eye, the anterior chamber, the orbit, and the globe. The incidence of alcohol and illicit substance abuse is high among ED patients with ocular trauma.
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Undifferentiated abdominal pain is a common condition encountered in the emergency department. While a patient's age, risk factors, and comorbidities often aid in risk stratification and guide emergency department evaluation, atypical presentations of serious disease may still occur suddenly in young otherwise healthy patients. ⋯ Emergency physicians regularly encounter uncommon causes of abdominal pain. Wunderlich's syndrome is rare but proper understanding of the disease process will aid in decision making and improve disposition and outcomes for patients. Likely presentations and risk factors for atraumatic renal rupture will be discussed as well as ED management and definitive treatment options.